Deron Williams passes the ball during a pre-Olympic exhibition game against the Dominican Republic. Photo: Getty Images

In a letter Joe Paterno dictated weeks before his death in January, the former Penn State football coach said the scandal created by the monstrous acts of pedophile Jerry Sandusky was not a football scandal.

The NCAA might think otherwise.

Within minutes of Thursday’s full release of the Freeh Report, which detailed a horrific lack of sympathy, empathy and action by the Penn State administration after learning of Sandusky’s actions, the NCAA released a statement saying Penn State needs to respond now to four questions the governing body of college sports sent to the university in November.

The questions, along with information gleaned from several sources, strongly suggests the NCAA might try to levy sanctions against Penn State by citing a lack of institutional control.

In recent years the NCAA has introduced new penalties as it strives to address situations which it does not have in its voluminous rulebook.In recent years the NCAA has introduced new penalties as it strives to address situations which it does not have in its voluminous rulebook.

“If they do something it would be unprecedented,’’ said Michael Glazier, an attorney with the firm of Bond, Schoeneck and King, which specializes in NCAA matters.

In November the NCAA sent Penn State president Rodney Erickson a letter that posed four questions, including one that deals with the ethical conduct of the Penn State administrators involved. The answers to those questions would help the NCAA decide what action, if any, to take.

The questions are:

1. How has Penn State and/or its employees complied with the NCAA articles of the constitution that are cited in the letter?

2. How has Penn State exercised institutional control over the issues identified in and related to the (original) grand jury report?

3. Have each of the alleged persons to have been involved … behaved consistent with principles and requirements governing ethical conduct and honestly?

4. What policies and procedures does Penn State have in place to monitor, prevent and detect the issues identified in (the grand jury report)?

The Freeh Report, which was conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh, was scathing in its criticism of Paterno, former athletic director Tim Curley, former vice president Gary Schultz and former president Graham Spanier. Based on the report, none of the four acted with ethical conduct and honesty, though Paterno was not alive to provide his account of what transpired.

Geoffrey Rapp, a law professor at the University of Toledo who writes a popular sports blog, said he would not rule out the death penalty for the school’s football program. Rapp noted Ohio State recently got penalized for not disclosing relatively minor violations of players exchanging memorabilia for tattoos. Those violations came to light within a year .

The Penn State situation, although it is not covered in the NCAA rulebook, involves a lack of institutional control over a long period of time. There are also NCAA rules that hold coaches to ethical standards.

One high-powered sports attorney, however, said the death penalty was out of the question.

When asked what possible action the NCAA could take, a source familiar with the NCAA said the most likely scenario would be to put Penn State on a two years’ probation for lack of institutional control, but not reduce scholarships or TV and bowl appearances.

That would open a door to the unknown for the NCAA and colleges. Any time a college coach is arrested it could fall under the new umbrella of lack of institutional control. “The NCAA, more so recently, does things that surprise me,’’ said a college compliance officer who wished to remain anonymous so as not to draw the attention of the NCAA.

“I think this should be a matter for Penn State and I think the NCAA is trying to score some public relations points.’’’

In a statement yesterday, Bob Williams, the NCAA’s vice president of communications, said his governing body was reviewing the Freeh Report for the first time. But the NCAA seems to be itching to get involved.

“Like everyone else, we are reviewing the final report for the first time today,’’ Bob Williams, the NCAA vice president of communications, said yesterday in a statement. “As President [Mark] Emmert wrote in his November 17th letter to Penn State President Rodney Erickson and reiterated this week, the university has four key questions concerning compliance with institutional control and ethics policies, to which it now needs to respond. Penn State’s response to the letter will inform our next steps, including whether or not to take further action. We expect Penn State’s continued cooperation in our examination of these issues.’’

Sandusky, Paterno’s long-time assistant and defensive coordinator, was recently convicted of 45 charges of child sex abuse. The key incident was the rape of a boy in the football building’s shower. That 2002 incident was witnessed by an assistant coach who informed Paterno.

Paterno told Curley but never contacted law enforcement personnel. According to the report, Paterno also withheld information about Sandusky. Since the football coach was involved, according to the report, the NCAA might consider it a football matter. But legal experts said the NCAA might have a hard time making a case without being able to interview Paterno.